Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): Annual 2019

Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): Annual 2019
Publication Date: May 1, 2019

Long time readers of Hedgehogs Can’t Swim might have noticed I haven’t reviewed an issue of IDW’s “Sonic” comic since May. In fact, I know some of you have noticed, as I’ve gotten several annoyed comments from readers wondering when I was going to pick up the series again. I wish I could say I had taken a deliberate hiatus from the new on-going but the truth is, as too often happens, I’ve just drifted away from the series. Right when it seemed like it was getting better too! Well, now that Halloween is over and the end of the year looms, the regular animation reviews are going on hiatus so I can catch up with IDW’s blue hedgehog adventures.

So, anyway: In the world of comic books, “annuals” are a regular occurrence. For those of you who might now know, annuals are special, double-length issues published once a year — duh — that usually contain multiple stories from different writers and artists. Annuals have separate numbering from the main book, usually just being referred to by the year they are published. The stories contained within are usually a bit detached from whatever is happening in the main series at the time too. Weirdly, in the twenty-plus year’s Archie was publishing “Sonic,” they never once did an annual, opting instead for various one-shots and specials. IDW, however, clearly has different plans. Their first “Sonic” annual rolled out this past May.

We begin the annual with “Bonds of Friendship,” from the ever-reliable Ian Flynn with art by Jennifer Hernandez. The story has Tangle the Lamar returning to her home village, with Whisper in tow. The two eventually end up at the Mineral Museum (largely filled with treasure Tangle has gathered during her adventures) which is run by Tangle’s oldest friend, a nervous beetle with a glittery shell named Jewel. After introductions, the Babylon Rogues — making their first appearance in this continuity — bust in and steal everything... Including Jewel, which the dim-witted Storm mistakes for a large gemstone. Tangle and Whisper leap into action to save their friend.

“Bonds of Friendship” is clearly a prequel to the “Tangle & Whisper” mini-series IDW would begin publishing a few months later. It establishes the lemur and the wolf as a duo, while building up Tangle’s history and home town some. The boisterous Tangle and shy Whisper are cute together. Tangle’s stretchy tail and Whisper’s versatile Wispon leads to lots of creative bounding and flipping. It seems Tangle collects nervous types as Jewel — who seems likable enough, even if we only get a glimpse at her personality here — is also rather anxious. I was apathetic about Flynn utilizing the Babylon Rogues, as I never cared for them in the Archie series. However, here Flynn characterizes the self-obsessed Jet and the principled Wave as a bickering couple, which makes the Rogues way more neurotic (and therefore way more interesting) than previous iterations. Storm is still just a big dumb guy though. In general, it’s a cute story with some fun character interactions and some okay action sequences. Its cuteness is further bolstered by Hernandez's extremely adorable artwork.

Our second story, “Jet Set Tornado,” comes from Caleb Goellner, who was invited back to write after that awful “Team Sonic Racing” one-shot for some reason. Obviously set a few issues prior, it concerns Sonic and Tails testing out a new rocket booster for the Tornado. Sonic is allowed to drive, which Tails quickly regrets. The hedgehog activated the rocket booster carelessly and threatens the structural fortitude of the plane. That’s when the duo spots a heavily modified Balkiry, hauling stolen Resistance supplies. They chase the bird-bot into a volcanic region, destroy it without the wrecking the plane, and drop the cargo into some lava which I guess isn’t a big deal.

“Jet Set Tornado” is, admittedly, slightly better than “Team Sonic Racing.” There’s a bead of emotional truth to Sonic and Tails’ decisions, as Sonic makes the choice to risk himself to save Tails’ latest invention. But the story is still pretty bad. Goellner’s dialogue remains, at best, awkward. He fills the word balloons with technical phrases like “straightaways” and “volatile” and lots of talks of unscheduled landings, volcanic vents and geysers, boosters and payloads. Goellner still seems more preoccupied with the special abilities of vehicles than the characters’ personalities or a narrative with any tension or resonance. Jack Lawrence’s energetic pencils are wasted on this nothing of a story.

“Victory Garden” sees Evan Stanley returning to the writer’s chair for the first time in a while, co-scripting with newcomer Gigi Dutreix. Blaze is looking for Silver around Resistance HQ. It seems the futuristic hedgehog has taken an interest in gardening, amazed by how green the planet is now when it’s totally desolate in his time. However, he hasn’t had any luck getting anything to grow. Blaze scorches the Earth and informs Silver on some general rules on gardening, helping a bountiful crop grow in time.

“Victory Garden” is really just as technical as “Jet Set Tornado.” Blaze spends several panels explaining the role ashes play in gardening. The difference is this technical stuff reflects the characters’ personalities and interests. Silver’s dopey attempts at garden are adorable, continuing to show what a lovable klutz he is. As is his enthusiasm at how green and fertile the present timeline is. Blaze taking the time to teach him shows she likes the kid, thinks his interests are worthwhile, and wants to help him grow, figuratively and literally. It’s a really cute story, is what I’m saying. Stanley also provides some wonderful artwork. I love how warm and painterly her work has gotten recently.

Cavan Scott, a British writer best known for his work on “Doctor Who” but new to “Sonic,” contributes “Curse of Eggman’s Pyramid.” Rough and Tumble decide to break into a pyramid Eggman built a while ago, sure it’s full of treasure. Tumble is concerned about a rumored curse though. Soon, they run into Rouge, who is also supposedly looking for treasure. A “curse” makes itself known but not everything is what it’s seems.

Rough and Tumble are characters I have nothing against but probably never would’ve thought to build a story around them myself. However, “Curse of Eggman’s Pyramid” is largely a work of goofy comedy, which is a fine fit for the dim-witted skunks. Both are repeatedly caught off-guard by the pyramid’s traps. The more superstitious Tumble slowly converting the more assured Rough is worth a chuckle. Scott thankfully keeps the rhyming to one panel. Rouge’s intrusion into the story is worthwhile. It leads a genuinely cute ending, where we discover Rouge was acting on a behalf of a community of fennecs that have taken up residence in the pyramid. (And seeing Rouge dressed as a mummy is amusing too.) Diana Skelly’s cartoony artwork is especially well suited to this material.

The annual concludes with James Kochalka and Jon Gray’s “Sonic Fan Club.” It concerns a group of enthusiastic young Sonic fans, none of whom appear to be named. The club president, a snooty blonde deer/dog?, is soon challenged for leadership by another member of the club, a red fox in a purple pillbox hat. They decide to have a contest to determine the president, based on who is the most like Sonic. They have a foot race, test their rolling skills, and end up fighting a Badnik. That’s when Tangle appears and offers to help but just ends up tangling herself in her tail.

There’s not a lot to this one. At first, you assume the condescending club president will be humbled by story’s end. When they encounter the Badnik and he is clearly intimidated, it certainly looks like that’s where we are headed. Instead, Kochalka goes for that non-sequitur of an ending. A really poor touch is that Sonic affects the story — racing through and smashing the Badnik while Tangle is distracted — without ever actually appearing on-panel. It reflects on the story’s depth that none of the characters are actually named. Instead, Gray’s artwork and character designs do most of the talking. The butterfly girl, who looks a lot like Dot Warner, is my favorite. I’m sort of hopeful they’ll bring back some of these kids, just to keep expanding the still relatively new book’s cast. I’m on record as not being much of a fan of Gray’s highly exaggerated artwork. However, he’s gotten a lot better with time and wacky comedy like this is obviously where he’s best utilized. (Though his Tangle is noticeably off-model.)

Of the five stories in the Annual, only one is truly a dud. Ironically, this is the only one that actually stars Sonic. Evan Stanley’s “Victory Garden” is definitely the best if the bunch, with the latter two leaning towards wacky comedy in an amusing way. I hope IDW continues with the Annuals, to make room for the young series’ growing supporting cast. I guess, over all, I’d give this one a fairly high score as long as you ignore that stinky Caleb Goellner story. [7/10]